Alliance for Ages *Chapter 16 up!*
by Zero Apocalypse
Summary: When Megaman X and Zero are drawn from their home by the calls for help from another Light Warrior, they find that Sigma has taken up arms once again. Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Tails, Zero and X must find their Destinies and destroy him once and for all.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic (No doy). I'm just putting this on because everyone else does. Oh, and to avoid any legal run-ins with Capcom and Sega's lawyers. Well, Enjoy!  
  
Setting: Earth, Shortly after MMX3 and SA2  
  
Chapter 1  
  
First Contact  
  
He squinted into the bright sunlight; it's rays glinting off his bright blue armor. Megaman X had no idea how he had reached this place, but he knew it was nothing like the cloud-and-smog covered cities of his world. There didn't appear to be any reploids here, only innocent animals running freely. Is this a dream? He thought. No. It's more than that, isn't it? It's not real, but it is significant.  
  
You're right, X. He turned quickly to see his host. He really couldn't tell who or what it was. It stood on two legs, but was anything but human. He was blue as well, but looked to be covered with fur and spikes. But the things that stood out most were his eyes. They had a familiar flame in them. It was the flame of a warrior. X could tell he was powerful and had been a warrior against the same enemy as himself. Evil. Incredible power was hidden behind those eyes. X, I have brought you here because I need your help. I haven't the power to defeat the enemies who recently came here. I know we are at different locations, but I can sense your incredible power. You will know where to go. Please, I need your help X. PLEASE!!!!!  
  
The image of the creature shattered as his last scream for help reverberated in Megaman's ears and he finally awoke, sitting straight up in his bed. His soul was suddenly filled with an unfathomable pity for the poor creature. Then, just as suddenly as the thought dissipated, his cybernetic brain was flooded with data. X let out a terrible cry that woke everyone in the rest chamber. Then, the stream of information shrunk to six characters; 22N, 68W. Coordinates! X thought. That's where I must go. After settling the rest of the maverick hunters down and getting them all back to sleep, X began to prepare for his departure.  
  
You will know where to go. Please, I need your help X. PLEASE!!!!! Sonic collapsed with the effort of holding the telepathic dream link and he could feel it fail and Megaman's image disappear as he let the Chaos emerald fall from his grasp. I only hope he finds us now. Tails rushed to his side, concerned. "Sonic! Did you talk to him? Does he know we need his help?"  
  
"Yes," Sonic answered. "I can only pray he will come. Otherwise."  
  
"Don't think about that, Sonic. He will come, and he will save us. It was his enemy who is defeating us, time and again. He can help us win."  
  
Sonic nodded, still unsure.  
  
. . .  
  
"Going away again, X?"  
  
"Yes, Zero. I have to," X replied, turning to face his friend, a grim look on his face. "Another freedom enforcer is in trouble, and we need all the help we can get in keeping the Earth safe. Besides," X added with a small grin, "Sigma hasn't shown his face in a while. Not around here, anyway, so I figure my talents are best served somewhere else."  
  
"Well, X, you knew I would say this, but I have to go with you. If you were destroyed I could never live it down."  
  
"Whatever. If you want to die too, then let's go." 


	2. The Long Journey

Chapter 2 The Long Journey  
  
It was 3,000 miles to the coordinates 22N, 68W, clear on the other side of the planet. Zero insisted on going in separate sky bikes, so as to leave themselves less vulnerable to ambush, even when X assured him that the stranger was sincere. With a short query on its origin, X decided that the stranger was a hedgehog, a creature long since thought extinct. What is this place, anyway? It must have never been colonized if there are hedgehogs there that we never knew about. I can't wait! Zero's voice came over his comm link.  
  
"X, you read? We're getting close now. Only about one hundred miles to go, so just keep an eye out for a good place to land, OK?"  
  
"Got it, X out." X flipped off the link and brought his magni-scope. As they closed to within sixty miles of the coordinates, X found that it was right in the middle of a large archipelago consisting of a dozen or so small islands surrounding a medium-sized mainland. When they were within 40 miles, he zeroed in on a large rock bluff only a few miles from the indicated point. "There," he said, activating the link. "On that bluff, it's perfect. Zero? You see it?"  
  
"You bet, X. Keep your eyes open for traps, though. We can't be caught off guard." X sighed and slowed his sky bike to a crawl as they approached their landing spot. But a feeling did encroach on his mind, a feeling of something approaching quickly. X and Zero dismounted slowly, ready to leap back on and fly off at the first sign of danger. But danger didn't come. Instead, X squinted into the distance, suddenly noticing the dust cloud moving in their direction. At its head, he could have sworn he saw a blue blur.  
  
And just as quickly as he spotted it, the blur was standing in front of them, a jubilant smile on his face. "Yes!!! You did come! We're saved!" X didn't know how to react to this "hedgehog" jumping about before him. He decided to let him explain. The stranger caught the gist of X's silence. "Oh, sorry, allow me to introduce myself," he said, bowing self- importantly. "My name is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog, fastest being alive and it is I who called you here and I beseech you for help. My little part of the world has recently come under the oppression of a new evil genius, one even more powerful than our resident scientist, Dr. "Eggman" Robotnic. If I remember from our last encounter, he called himself Sigma." X and Zero stared and gaped at their new ally in the greatest war in Earth's history. 


	3. Explanations

Chapter 3 Explanations  
  
"So, you never figured out the thing with the moon and the space colony? Or that there was an entire military organization based here?" Sonic asked.  
  
"No," X answered, "we figured the whole moon thing was just a misfire of one of our real military's own weapons. Non-registered militants like the Maverick Hunters have no access to information about our own military assets. And as for this G.U.N. organization you mentioned, I only remember a small project attempting to create an army of mindless robots to keep sentient warriors out of harms way. It failed and the project was lost around this place."  
  
"You mean to tell me that you never even looked for it? I mean this thing is huge! They have thousands of robots and a fleet's worth of aircraft carriers and assault craft. Well, anyway, that sort of explains things. But the cities! There are massive cities here on the main island! You're trying to tell us that you just never bothered to check out the OTHER side of the Earth?" X nodded and Zero smiled sheepishly. Sonic just stared, looking disbelieving. "Alrighty then. Well, come on, there's plenty I have to show you." He motioned for the Hunters to mount their bikes and follow him. As Sonic sped off and the other two followed, X noticed that the thick forests were changing. He could see buildings now. Large ones, skyscrapers filling coastal cities. And now he began seeing ships off the shorelines, obviously the G.U.N. ships Sonic had mentioned.  
  
"X, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Zero asked over the comm link.  
  
"I think so. Those must be the cities Sonic mentioned."  
  
"Yeah, but look out forward. That must be Sonic's HQ." X saw his friend point out at a squat, military-looking compound up ahead. Sonic's dust cloud moved toward it at incredible speed. "This is our last chance to back out, buddy. Any second thoughts?"  
  
"Not a one, Zero. Sonic wouldn't betray us. Not even if Sigma is the bad guy here. I can't feel any malice in his words or his actions."  
  
"You'd better be right, X." Zero was just about ready to shoot his friend down for his lack of caution. Zero knew better than to trust everyone who appears to have a just cause. No, he had read way too many Star Wars novels for that. But Zero knew not to question his friend's judgment and landed his sky bike alongside X's. Sonic waited for them, tapping his foot impatiently.  
  
"Where have you guys been? Having second thoughts about helping a fellow warrior?" Sonic said, looking hurt.  
  
X smiled. "What makes you think that? Just exercising some natural caution. So, what's the story of all this stuff just appearing out of nowhere?"  
  
Sonic looked baffled. "What do you mean? Oh, the cities! Sorry, I forgot, they don't appear to anyone who isn't welcome here. Dr. Eggman is the only exception; he seems to have found a way to penetrate the camo shield."  
  
"What about Sigma? Can he spot the cities, too?"  
  
"He doesn't need to. Eggman has joined him as partners." 


	4. A Force for Justice

Chapter 4 A Force for Justice  
  
"Well, guys, it's time to meet the rest of the team." Sonic said, tapping a button on the wall of his base."  
  
A voice came from a small speaker. "Who's there?"  
  
"It's me, Tails. Let us in. Our new friends have to meet the rest of us." Two heavy doors slowly swung open, their gears whining in protest. "Better get someone out here with a can of WD-40," Sonic mused. As each warrior stepped in, scanners on either side of the doorway scanned them. Tails' voice came over a small comlink in Sonic's hand,  
  
"It's them, Sonic. No deception on their end.  
  
X looked startled, but amused. "You suspected US of treachery? I guess we're all over-suspicious. Zero was ready to blow someone's face off if we were betrayed."  
  
Sonic chuckled. "Anyway, time to meet the rest of the group. Sonic Team! Fall in!" Two other animals abruptly came into the entrance hall. X recognized one as a fox, only it had two tails. The other was red with large knuckles, but it was totally unfamiliar to him. Before he could ask, Sonic explained. "This is Tails Prower the Fox and Knuckles (just Knuckles) the Echidna. They're my partners. Guys, this is Megaman X and."  
  
Sonic whispered to X, "Who's your friend?"  
  
"Zero," X replied, just as softly. "Just Zero."  
  
"Zero. They will be our allies against Robotnic and Sigma. They have warred against Sigma's forces for years and have won several times. Together we WILL defeat them." X suppressed the urge to applaud at the flattering speech. The "Echidna" raised his hand. "Yes, Knuckles?"  
  
"Just one question. Why are we YOUR team, all of a sudden?" Zero decided that he liked this guy.  
  
"Shut up, Knucks. Tails, get them outfitted."  
  
"Sure thing, Sonic," Tails agreed. "Follow me, you two. Looks like your weapons could use some spit-shine." The orange fox led them to a large, cavernous room lined with testing chambers and equipping rooms.  
  
X was stunned. "Incredible! This place is better equipped than Hunter HQ! How could you guys lose with all this stuff?"  
  
Tails shrugged. "I guess it's because we don't have enough soldiers or equipment to utilize it all." A small group of human scientists approached, one holding a gleaming armor plate and another with a glinting, perfectly shaped jewel.  
  
"Here are the parts you wanted, sir."  
  
"Thanks, Wilson. Now, X, this is a synthetic chaos emerald," he said, holding up the crystal. "We're using the few real ones we have recovered to power the base equipment and defenses, so this is the best we could do. We're going to need your weapon to install it."  
  
"Hang on, hang on," X stalled and chuckled dryly. "My buster IS my right arm. What're you going to do, yank it off?"  
  
. . .  
  
"I'm not so sure of this, guys." X was strapped down on a slab waiting for his "Mechanical Doctor" to arrive. Tails had obviously taken to heart what X had said and was perfectly happy to yank his whole arm off to replace the power core for his weapon.  
  
"I'm REALLY not sure of it now. This Tails kid is crazy if he think he can mess with the delicate equipment in these arms."  
  
"X, that's not very nice." Zero was obviously quite amused by this whole ordeal.  
  
"Shut up, would you? It was you who was so worried about betrayal twenty freakin' minutes ago. Now it's all a joke?"  
  
"Lighten up, Megaman." That was Tails who had just entered the operation room wearing doctor's scrubs. "This won't hurt a bit. Just think of how much better your weapon will be with a chaos emerald at its core. Oh, while you're out, would you mind if I install this new armor as well."  
  
"Oh, sure. Why don't you just rewire my whole damn neurotronic system center while you're at it? I told you this kid's crazy."  
  
Tails just laughed maniacally. "Here I come, X." 


	5. First Conflict

Chapter 5 First Conflict  
  
"I have never met such a whack-ball!" X rubbed his right arm as he stormed from the medical sector. It was still sore.  
  
Tails ran to catch up. "Wait, X! I'm sorry! I don't understand, I numbed your neural cluster, I don't see how it could've hurt!"  
  
"You really don't get it, do you?" X asked. "I'm not one of your little half-conscious war-bots or ride-mechs! I am more than just AI! I am Reploid, as close to human as humans will ever come with machines, and you had better respect that."  
  
"Man, X, don't you think you're being a little hard on the kid?" Zero looked surprised at his usually good-humored friend. "I mean, have you ever known anyone with that much enthusiasm about robots? Come on! He only wants to help!"  
  
"At least try out the upgrades, please? I'll try to figure out how to keep out the pain, next time, just humor me this one time," Tails pleaded.  
  
"Yeah, OK, just this once. Where's there a test area?" Tails led them into a large room with several 100 meter shooting ranges.  
  
"Now, all I want you to do is charge your buster to full power and launch it at the target in front of you. Tell me if it feels more, or less powerful."  
  
It'd better be more powerful or I'm going to blast YOU, X thought. He lined up the sight on his buster and began to charge it. But when it reached the normal full charge, it didn't stop! In fact, it charged to a level that X had never experienced before. As he fired, the buster shot's recoil nearly knocked X to the ground and Zero ran to help.  
  
"Are you OK, X?"  
  
"Yeah, Zero. That was one huge blast, though. Congratulations, kid, you've really outdone yourself. Sorry I yelled at you."  
  
"It's alright, X. I get that all the time from Sonic. Its just that." Tails was never able to finish because alarm klaxons began sounding all throughout the base. Sonic ran into the development dome and informed the others an attack.  
  
"It's a full squadron of tank droids and small combat robots. We're going to have to fight them off ourselves, since they took down our defensive power grid with an EMP wave."  
  
"I'll get right on that, Sonic," said Tails, running off to retrieve some spare parts.  
  
"What should we do, Sonic?" X could see Zero was eager for a good fight.  
  
"You two get to the roof. We're suspecting an air-strike, so be careful." X and Zero quickly ran to the lift marked "Roof". When they reached their destination, which seemed like forever, they were greeted by two light assault bipedal robots trying to penetrate the base from above. X destroyed both of them quickly, and then turned his attention to the ground. There was a full squadron, alright. X counted fifteen heavy assault tanks backed up by countless smaller robots.  
  
"Zero, I'll engage the ground attackers. You just watch for that air-strike and yell if you spot anything." He took aim at one of the heavies and charged the buster as far as it could go and prayed it would be enough to scrap the thing. He braced himself for the recoil and fired. The green-and- purple blast lanced out and detonated the tank entirely, the back-blast destroying several of its support forces.  
  
Before X could line up for another shot, Zero yelled. "X, two strike jets heading this way! See if you can get one before their first pass!"  
  
"Got it!" X lined up the sight at one of the small dots approaching. By the time they got within range, his buster was fully charged and he let it loose on the hapless attacker. It clipped the jet's right wing, crippling it and sent it into a crazy downward spiral. His partner, caught by surprise, veered off his attack vector. Recovering, the pilot turned back and started tracking its assailant.  
  
"My turn, now," said Zero, activating his boost-boots. He rocketed upward, Beam-sword drawn, charging the oncoming plane. The pilot never had a chance to swerve. Zero struck his energy blade straight into the cockpit, smashing glass and killing the pilot. He boosted away just as the shorted electronics caused the jet to explode, showering the roof with shrapnel.  
  
X's commlink buzzed and Sonic's voice came through. "X, the battle is over. Good job with those jets, you two. Your performance seems to have scared them off." Indeed, the enemy line was retreating, still firing, but doing no real damage. X took his position again and sniped off the few stragglers left.  
  
. . .  
  
"Did you see that, Robotnic?" Sigma sat in his high command chair, still ordering the retreat. "They defeated our air-strike even though we had disabled all of their defenses. That can only mean one thing."  
  
"What might that be, Sigma? Did they somehow neutralize the EMP charge from their weapons?" Robotnic sat at a smaller, more modest post, coordinating the units' formation.  
  
"No, you fool. It means that they have outside help now. Troops with their own weapons. But." A small light blinked on Sigma's console. "What do we have here? Video files, eh?"  
  
A lieutenant at the primary comm station spoke up. "Yes, sir. It seems to have come from one of the two air-strike jets. It looks like it got footage of what destroyed them on the roof of the Hedgehog's base."  
  
"Well, let's play it back, shall we." Sigma pressed the blinking button on his console and he watched as the file played back. The jet was just circling around for its second pass. Shortly after it had gotten back on track, something took off from the roof. A missile? Sigma thought.  
  
"Freeze that," Sigma commanded to the computer. "Zoom in, 4X." The screen froze and moved in on the missile. Sigma stood quickly. "It can't be! Not them! Zoom in on this spot," said Sigma, pointing on the screen. "No. It IS them. This will be a major set back. Sonic must have managed to contact my old nemeses Megaman X and Zero. They defeated me time and again back home, and now they have joined with my new enemies. This really isn't my day."  
  
"Um, may I say something?" said Robotnic.  
  
"No, I need some time to think. Go. rally the troops or something. Just get out of my sight, all of you!" 


	6. Aftermath

Chapter 6 Aftermath  
  
The power generation core of the Freedom Fighters' base had been heavily shorted and fused at all points. Tails was just finishing up a new charge- dampener to neutralize the still-flowing EMP charge when he noticed something strange. This EMP hadn't just fried the circuits, but it had also disrupted most of their communication frequencies. The generator is no longer receiving signals from the command tower! The old divide and conquer tactic, eh? Tails thought.  
  
Meanwhile, Knuckles was helped from the command tower lift to the Med Ward by two human medics. Damn divide and conquer tactics, he thought. "Hey, careful. I think one of those bastards must have broken something in my leg. OWWW! DON'T TOUCH IT!"  
  
Sonic came charging down the hall, just having heard about the comm blackout caused by the EMP missiles. "Knucks, are you OK? After I heard about the comm interference I was kind of worried. It's a shame that missile had to hit the tower. It did plenty of damage, yessir."  
  
Knuckles looked quite annoyed. "Sonic, stop babbling. It really wasn't the missile impact that hurt me; it was the penetration units that followed. I fought them off as long as I could alone, but they overwhelmed me." The medics continued to prod at his leg. "I said DON'T TOUCH IT!"  
  
"Guess it IS broken," one of the medics remarked.  
  
Sonic just laughed. "Well, I'll let you get down to the Med Ward. Just remember, we're planning the retaliatory strike tonight. We'll probably post you in one of the tanks, so don't worry about the leg."  
  
In the small base meeting room, Sonic, Tails, X, Zero, and finally Knuckles (on crutches) filed in. As the others took their seats, X pulled out the short notes he had taken on the battle. He had decided to record images of the ground assault to study later. He was glad that he had.  
  
"OK everyone, SHUT UP! I call this meeting to order," Sonic said to the four of them. "We are here now to plan our next attack on Sigma and Robotnick's lab. Reconnaissance has revealed that the base is heavily fortified with soldiers and guns. At this time we are in possession of three heavy assault tanks, and two personnel carriers as well as forty trained commandos and enough crew and pilots for those vehicles. We will have to get inside if we want to do much damage."  
  
Knuckles snickered. "He's been preparing that speech for a while. He never talks like that," he said quietly to Zero.  
  
"I heard that. Knucks, please try to keep your insubordinate attidude out of these meetings before I have to take you outside and beat you until you promise to.  
  
X raised a hand. "Yes, Megaman."  
  
X stood and hit the button on his helmet for his image projector. "I studied the enemy's formations and tactics and have come to a possibly helpful conclusion," he said pointing to the projection of the tanks and support units. "All of the enemy units seem to mass against one target. They never even tried to move against Zero and me. My guess is that one person coordinates their troops. If we can utilize even a simple distraction, one of us can probably get inside."  
  
"Thank you. I think X is right. We'll have to slip one of our guys in there to open something and let the rest of us in. Then we can do what we all do best. BREAK STUFF!"  
  
The room cheered and Tails motioned for quiet. "In other news, I have discovered a startling bit about the G.U.N. organization. It looks as though Eggman and Sigma are attempting to turn them to their side. Our spotters around the enemy base got photos of two light personell carriers with G.U.N. logos on them entering it. We need to stop any and all collaboration between them. What should we do, Sonic?"  
  
"Well, it sounds to me that we need more info. Before we scrap their computer systems during our attack, we'll need one of you to tap in and run a search for it," Sonic said, gesturing toward X and Zero.  
  
"Got it. Get the info, then destroy the system."  
  
"You'll need to make it quick because the base defenders will be on us with five minutes. You'll have to locate the computer core and do all that in that time frame," Sonic added. "Time sucks, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Zero said. "Shouldn't we just be. blowing a hole in the thing?" Tails and Knuckles laughed. "No, really. X and me have done it plenty of times. Just plant a big explosive charge, blast a hole and charge right in, quick and easy. Right, X?"  
  
"Nah. Their plan adds more to the plot of this fic. Actually, something cool's supposed to happen during the battle, so let's just go with it, OK?" The room was silent.  
  
Finally, Knuckles spoke. "Let's move on to the next chapter before X reveals more than he means about the storyline."  
  
"Here, here!" 


	7. Retaliation

Chapter 7 Retaliation  
  
The three heavy tanks positioned themselves to start the hit-and-run diversion. Sonic and Megaman X looked on as the first few blasts erupted from the tanks' cannons. "There's our diversion," X said. "Let's get in there before they realize it." Sonic nodded. "OK. I'll use my speed to slip in. You just cover me and wait for me to give the all clear. Now stand back and let me work a little magic." And he did. Sonic sped on toward the open vehicle gate at a speed too fast for X to follow. X took a pair of level 2 charged blasts at a defending tank-bot before Zero ran up beside him. "Where've you been? With the diversion, I suppose?" X asked. "No, actually I was working out one of those blow-open-a-hole-in-the-base- to-get-in approaches. Unfortunately, I couldn't even get near the place because of all the defensive fire. How's Sonic making out?" X looked out at the battlefield. "Good. He's only about a hundred meters out now. The vehicle doors are closing, though. He's gotta step on it."  
  
Sonic stared ahead at the now-closing hangar bay doors. I've got to make it, he thought. They're depending on me! Pushing himself to the limit of his ability, Sonic made one last boost and he was inside. Stopping abruptly, Sonic looked around for any sign of enemies. To his great surprise, there was not a robot in sight. They must all be out fighting, he guessed. Finding no reason to wait, Sonic began to search for some way to open the doors again. It took him only a matter of minutes. A large switch off to on side was labeled Bay Doors, which he threw. He gave the all-clear comm signal and waited as the doors groaned open. He waited around ten minutes and the others filed in one by one. First came X and Zero, both firing rapidly behind them, then Tails in his Cyclone assault walker, also blasting away. To Sonic's great surprise, Knuckles also showed, sporting a hover bike he must have borrowed from Zero. As they regrouped and formed their next plan of action, Tails, always vigilant, noticed something move at the back of the room. After that, they never even suspected that the enemy was closing the trap right on top of them.  
  
"Is the ambush ready, Eggman?" Sigma asked, staring down at the doctor. "You bet, Sig. We've got an entire brigade devoted to trapping them. Their pathetic diversion never had a chance. I mean, THREE TANKS! Come on, what did they expect us to think they could do to this base with three tanks?" Sigma glared at him. "You know, I would really prefer it if you only answer yes or no. Your voice is incredibly annoying." "Yes sir."  
  
"Well, this just sucks." Knuckles said, staring down the barrel of a tank- bot cannon. "Any bright ideas, Sonic? Some kind of kick-ass plan of action? Flawless escape route? Something???" "I'm working on it, Knucks. I'm weighing our options right now. Oh. no, wait, we have none. What do you expect me to do, make them disappear? I may be the fearless leader, but I'm not imnipotent over here." It seemed totally hopeless. Sonic might have been able to defeat a few tank bots, but this was a whole brigade and they were surrounded. The enemy would certainly destroy them all if Sonic tried anything. But then again, who said it would be him? Sonic couldn't explain it, but it was like the whole world around him had stopped moving all at once. He looked around, and saw hundreds of weapons turned their way. He noticed a cocky-looking human leutenant sneering near the back of the circle, frozen in time. Then came the voice. "Sonic. Oh, Sonic. Remember me?" It was a familiar voice, but Sonic couldn't quite place it. "Quite a little mess you've gotten yourself into, huh? Well, there was no way you could have known that Sigma would anticipate the attack." Just then, Sonic realized the voices owner. It was Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. He seemed to come down through the ceiling inside of a black aura shaped like a dragon that kept him aloft. "I guess it's my turn to save you guys," he said. "Shadow! You're alive! But, how? The fall through the atmosphere should have destroyed you. How did you survive?" "It's a long story (Backstory: Shadow's Quest, Coming in 2002!) so I'll tell you later. Anyway, back to saving you." Shadow quickly flew in a circle over the enemy troops, the aura about him dropping a black shadow over all but Sonic's group. He then went outside, apparently dropping it on more troops on their way. He returned quickly. "There, done. Now to explain this whole thing to you." 


	8. The Prophecy

Chapter 8 The Prophecy  
  
"I can see you're wondering where this power came from," Shadow said. The world around them was still frozen in place, most of it with a dark shadow hanging over it. "Well, after I came down to Earth again, I was told of an ancient prophesy, a legacy more like it, of the Seven. It was about seven warriors who were selected to bring balance to the forces of Good and Evil. Their power was given through seven magic objects, weapons mostly, that were enchanted by the powers of the seven magical beasts. Pheonix, Dragon, Cobra, Falcon, Tortioise, Angel, Giant. Those were the creatures. When the chaos became too great in the world, these warriors were chosen to bring back a balance to everything. When balance was reached the weapons disappeared until they were needed once more. That time is now. Sigma coming here has created a massive disturbance in the balance of Light and Dark. I am one of the seven. I am now Shadow of the Black Dragon, Spirit of Death. Unfortunately, it is one of the evil-sided spirits. Because of this, you can never seek me out. Since you are filled with good I would be compelled to destroy you.  
  
"So that's why time has stopped," Sonic said, suddenly realizing. "You aren't really here, you're here telepathically. Only the Dragon is really here."  
  
"Correct, Sonic, well done. I am sure though that you are also one of the seven. Therefore, you must seek out your weapon as well. I'm not totally sure who any of the others are, but I suspect that one of your new friends could be as well. You can tell him later. I do believe, though, that I know the location of your weapon."  
  
"Where, Shadow? This must be the cool thing X talked about."  
  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Nothing. just finish what you were going to say."  
  
"Right. Anyway, I can feel that your weapon is somewhere in the Green Forest. You have to go there now. If it is your weapon, it will draw you toward it. You shouldn't have much trouble at all." Shadow nodded to him and waved his hand. He abruptly dissappeared and time resumed. Suddenly, every robot in the hangar and outside broke down and the humans fell unconcious. The rest of Sonic's team looked around, baffled as to the sudden lucky break.  
  
"Let's go guys. There'll be more coming at any moment.," Sonic yelled, already heading for the bay doors.  
  
"What about the mission?" X asked, still looking stupefied. "Don't we need that information on G.U.N.?"  
  
"We have more important things to worry about. Just get back to base. I trust you can all make it back by yourselves?"  
  
"Yes, but why not go as a group?" Zero asked.  
  
"Because I have somewhere to be. I shouldn't be long. Knucks, the base is yours for now."  
  
"Alright! I can order those really expensive defensive autotracker guns with your account!" Knuckles said, rubbing his hands together.  
  
"You do and I will bust open your stupid face and sew it back together with your own blood vessels," Sonic retorted. "Just make sure no one breaks in, OK?"  
  
"Yes, boss. Whatever you say," Knuckles sneered.  
  
"Zero, keep an eye on him, got it?"  
  
"Hey, why Zero?" X said, looking surprised.  
  
"Because, Zero is more responsible." Sonic shot a smirk Zero's way.  
  
"Yeah, responsible my processor. Zero can't even keep track of his own purchases, much less Knucles'."  
  
Zero looked at him. "Shut up, shithead. That was just that one time."  
  
X just smiled at Sonic.  
  
"Ok, two." 


	9. Sonic's Quest

Chapter 9 Sonic's Quest  
  
As Sonic dashed into the Green Forest, he noticed that several of the largest trees had been cut down and parts of it had been torched. "What happened here?" he said aloud. "These trees are hundreds of years old. It'd take a pretty huge chainsaw to take out one of these babies. Hmmm. well, whatever it was, it's gone now." He continued on, weaving in and out of trees and jumping off a few. Finally, he reached a strange place he had never seen before. It appeared to be some sort of altar or shrine that had pillars reaching to the sky and a gaping red wooden door. Sonic approached and was about to knock when the door swung open of it's own accord. He stepped inside and quite suddenly felt that pulling sensation that Shadow had mentioned earlier. Sonic knew right away that this shrine housed his mythical weapon.  
  
The ceiling was huge and dome with pictures depicting a massive bird trailing flames, dive-bombing an equally huge black dragon. Wait, didn't Shadow say he was the Black Dragon? Sonic wondered. Then he realized it. Then I must be the Phoenix. Sonic rushed forward and saw a large staircase leading downward. He stepped cautiously down its slippery stone steps and found himself in another huge room, only this one had a low ceiling. "More like a catacomb than anything else," he said. Onward he went, looking anxiously from side to side, searching for this "Enchanted Object". He noted that this room branched off into smaller rooms along the side. Some kind of tomb? he wondered. As he went deeper into the tomb, Sonic noticed two things. First, he couldn't see anything without squinting anymore and, second, that he felt the pull of the weapon even stronger now. He just kept on walking toward the pull until he felt its draw change direction. Strangely, though, the pull did not change direction once. It seemed to circle him, as if something already had it. As he turned he saw what it was. A massive Mummified form stood in the doorway he had just come through, holding a large, glowing sword encrusted with red jewels. It was quite imposing and looked as if it was going to challenge Sonic for the sword.  
  
"I accept," Sonic said, feeling the quills on the back of his neck stand up as if they were scared. The mummy charged forward, bringing the blade up to strike. Sonic debated with himself with what to do. He decided to strike back, not run like the mummy probably expected him to do. If the thing even thought. Sonic jumped toward it as it brought the weapon down. He rolled up and sent out his protection field, striking the mummy squarely in the face. The monster staggered and clutched at it's damaged face. Sonic took the initiative, rolling and clipping out the creature's legs. It fell over and let the blade slip from its grasp. "Too much for you, ugly?' Sonic baited. He quickly ran by, gathering up the sword and holding it in both hands and turning to face his adversary again. The sword was indeed magical. It glowed with a bright golden-red aura; seeming to erupt from the Ruby jewels all over it's edge. It conformed to his grip as though he had made it. As the mummy struggled to its feet, Sonic dashed toward it, holding the blade in front of him. He struck the beast, impaling it through the stomach. No blood came out, confirming Sonic's guess that it was an Undead being, possibly brought to life by the Phoenix Blade's reawakening. He pulled the blade out and decided to end the battle quickly. Sonic slashed on an upward angle, taking the mummy's head off like a hot knife through butter. The thing's body evaporated, leaving only its wrappings behind. Sonic then had a strange foreboding feeling. As he looked around again, he saw why. Then he heard it. An entire legion of mummy-creatures surrounded him, roaring in rage for their fallen comrade.  
  
Sonic felt he had to act fast. But he never had to do anything. The blade raised itself from his hands and floated before him. It began to spin like a saw blade, faster and faster. Then, it miraculously seemed to change into something else. Two huge flaming wings emerged from its sides and a small body followed soon after. The sword was gone. Instead, the Phoenix hovered there, in all its glory. Sonic could feel the intense heat coming off of it. The bird zoomed straight at the nearest of the mummies, incinerating it instantly as if it had been thrown into a fireplace. It changed course, making a complete circle around Sonic, burning down every enemy that happened to be in its way. Apparently, not even undead mummies like to be torched. The remaining mummies scattered in all directions, covering their heads with their arms, roaring with fear at the miracle-creature that had just destroyed more than half of them. As the Phoenix came back to Sonic, it stopped in the air in front of him and abruptly changed back into the sword, falling to the ground. Sonic picked it up, looking at it with complete disbelief at its incredible power. "Wow," he said. "I can't wait to show this to Zero. He'll be so jealous." Sonic laughed and began to run back the way he had come, finding the doorway he had come through and charging back out into the depths of the Green Forest. 


	10. Eggman's Secret

Chapter 10 Eggman's Secret  
  
"Is the weapon set up?" Sigma demanded from Robotnic. They sat once again in Sigma's control center. Sigma was striding down the hall to the weapon control core with Dr. Robotnic close behind, running to keep up.  
  
"Yes sir," he responded, sounding winded. "The crystal is secure and power is flowing regularly. We should be able to utilize it in a few days, as long as we don't have too many problems."  
  
"Eggman, what did I tell you about talking too much?" Sigma pressed his palm against the door pad and it slid up as if trying to hide from Sigma's presence. He entered the Core, glancing around at the various weapon control consoles lining the circular walls. Hanging overhead was a massive blue crystal, surging with energy, wired to the clear glass concave ceiling. "Incredible. This is definitely the ultimate source of power. We will have to use it sometime soon. With this weapon, I will definitely conquer the Universe."  
  
Sigma hit a button on the nearest console labeled "Drop Mechanism". The concave dome that the crystal was wired to lowered itself so that the crystal was nearly touching the floor. He walked toward it like he was approaching a god, nearly dropping to his knees. He slowly placed his hands on the crystal's surface, feeling the energy swell outwards.  
  
Very quickly.  
  
Before he knew it, Sigma was being drawn into the huge saffire, engulfed by its incredible powers. Next thing that he knew, he was looking at his own body, cold and lifeless, wrapped in the lattice of the saffire. He was inside the computer.  
  
Robotnic watched as Sigma's body was wrapped by the tendrils of energy extended from the saffire's surface and drawn inside of it. The body threw its head back as if to scream or laugh-Robotnic couldn't tell. Then, the surges of tremendous energy increased, causing the lights to flicker and the computer consoles to all re-boot. It was clear why in a moment. Sigma's face appeared in crude 3-D on each of the computer screens around the room, looking quite confused. "Eggman! Explain what has happened! What did that thing do to me?"  
  
Robotnic sneered. "Well, Sigma, it seems as though the Weapon has absorbed your body and placed your system data into the core computer system." Robotnic felt a surge of relief come on. His tormentor was now powerless and weak.  
  
He could escape.  
  
"Well, Sig, I guess I'll be going now. Got bigger, better World Domination plans to work on, and, frankly, you don't figure into them. See you later, Jerk!" As Eggman began to leave, Sigma found the access to the security weapon systems and two large sentry guns dropped from the doorway Robotnic was attempting to leave through. One fired at his feet to make him stop.  
  
Eggman jumped and turned, looking both surprised and betrayed at the same time. "What is this, Sigma? You dare betray me? You dare to stop me from leaving a partnership I never really wanted?" The faces of Sigma laughed at him, his voice reverberating around the room.  
  
"You poor, weak-minded fool," Sigma responded, still chuckling. "I won't let you out so easily. You're in this for the long run now. Either you find a way to get me out of this computer, or you'll never leave. Now, get to work." But as Eggman began to leave the room, Sigma changed his mind. Two guard robots quickly emerged from a side hall, grabbed Robotnic and dragged him out through a different door. "Take him to the labs and lock the door. Don't let him out until he finds the solution." Both guards nodded and continued to drag Eggman out, still cursing and yelling.  
  
"You slimy bastard virus. I'll make you pay. I may not be able to get you out of my system, but I will find some way to make you feel more pain than you have ever felt. I'll make you hurt so much. I HATE VIRUSES." And with that, they disappeared down the hall.  
  
"I will make him hurt SOOOO MUCH," Robotnic screamed from the bench he was sitting on in the locked lab section. After that first tantrum, Eggman decided to gather himself up and make the best of the situation. "But first, I have to find a way out of here," he said to himself. As he moved about the room, looking for some escape route out of the room, he talked to himself, trying to reassure himself that he could win. "Hehehe, at least he doesn't know why that crystal absorbed his body. And, without knowing about the super-sensitive microphone and camera hidden in the corner of the room, he blurted out everything he knew about the Legend of the Seven. 


	11. The Quests Continue

Chapter 11 The Quests Continue.  
  
Sonic returned to the base to find it devoid of all but the team's support troops. He hurried to the Med wing, fearing the worst. He confronted the nearest personnel. "Harrison!" he called. "Get over here. Come on, move soldier."  
  
"Yes, sir! Lieutenant Knuckles wanted me to tell you he was leaving. He wouldn't explain why. He merely said he had a 'Feeling'."  
  
Sonic thought for a moment. Then, Harrison remembered something else. "Oh, yeah. After Knuckles left, everyone else followed not long after, all leaving in their own directions."  
  
"Well, that settles it. They were also members of the Seven. They must be." Sonic felt for the heavy blade slung from his back.  
  
Harrison looked quizzical. "What's that sword for, Sir? And who, may I ask are the 'Seven'?"  
  
"Well, kid, this is, I think, what's called the Phoenix Blade. And the Seven are, supposedly, legendary warriors chosen every so often to balance out the forces of the Earth. It's complicated, so I won't go into detail."  
  
"Well, I guess I won't ask any more. Thanks for trying, though, sir."  
  
"Yeah, thanks Harrison." He turned and began walking to the command tower. "Now, let's find out where Shadow's hiding."  
  
Knuckles stood at the small opening in the canyon's floor, peering into the darkness. "I hope I don't get lost down there. Well, here goes nothing!" He slid down the steep - sloped tunnel. As he went faster and faster, he noticed that strange, pulling feeling grow stronger. I wonder if this is the feeling that drew Sonic away. I have to stay on my toes. Something about this doesn't feel right. he thought. At the bottom of the slope, Knuckles found himself in a huge, well - lit chamber. "This definitely doesn't feel right. Why would there be so much light in here?" He looked around him, but found no torches or artificial light sources anywhere. As he walked down the corridor before him, he found that the next chamber was even brighter. Only this time, he wasn't alone.  
  
Two large stone statues stood before him. One looked like a human with a spear, the other, a huge humanoid serpent. The snake statue appeared to be a central snake body with other snakes as its arms and legs. Taking no further notice, Knuckles walked farther into the room, scanning the walls and floor. Several large stone columns held up the ceiling. Just then, he noticed something strange. A single panel in the center of the room seemed to be darker in color than the others. He walked over to inspect it, but thought better and began to search for a stone. He found a fairly large one lying by one of the columns. He picked it up, walked over close to the square and tossed it down, testing for a trap. Nothing happened. "Well," Knuckles said to no one. "That's. unexpected. But. convenient all the same." Knuckles stepped cautiously closer to the dark square. He then felt a tiny, familiar alarm go off in the back of his head.  
  
"Treasure - hunter sense is tingling! That thing must be down there." He also noticed that the pulling sensation had increased greatly and seemed to beckon him toward the entrance to the hole. Or, what he expected to be a hole. Knuckles dropped to his knees and began to pry open the panel with his shovel claws. He got the square off and found that it hid a long, wide shaft that plunged into darkness for what seemed like forever. "Man, not another steep drop into total darkness. I'm beginning to hate this exploration crap. Now, how am I gonna shed some light onto the situation?" He finally took a glance at the ceiling of the cavern, where he found his answer, and the source of the mysterious light. Thousands of bats crowded the ceiling, their eyes giving off a bright, bioluminescent glow. Knuckles grabbed another rock off the floor, chucking it toward the ceiling. A large number of the bats detached and flew down at him. Concentrating, he quickly threw out a hand and caught one of the bats. The rest flew on, down one of the side corridors. He held the bat in his right hand and used a Thai-Chi technique to calm it down. He then began climbing down the shaft, noting that the shaft blocks were the same, dark color as the panel cover. Several minutes of climbing downward led him into a small hallway, leading toward a door. The door had an engraving of two intertwined serpents with huge fangs. Knuckles was about to push the door open, when it disappeared, almost as if it was never really there.  
  
Knuckles found himself in another huge room. There were no bats down here, so the room was dark and he was glad that he had brought one with him. Suddenly, the floor began to rumble and dust fell from the ceiling. He noticed, then, that there was a square hole in the center of the room.  
  
"Oh, no. NOOOOO! No more holes! I am sick of these frickin' holes!" But Knuckles never had to go down this hole. From below, a column came up to the surface of the room. On top of it, sat two objects resembling the claws he had on his hands. These claws, though, were curved like fangs. Knuckles walked over to the podium and picked up the claws. They were heavy, made of some very strong metal. Titanium, I hope, Knuckles thought. He quickly removed his shovel claws and slipped the new fangs on his hands. They fit perfectly.  
  
"All right, lets get back home. It looked like these are what I was looking for." Knuckles ran back to the base of the shaft he had come down through and scrambled back up, trying to get used to hooking the scythed fangs into the block walls. It wasn't easy. By the time Knuckles reached the top, his adversaries were well in place. He let the bat go and put his claw over the edge, pulling himself up. Just then, he was hit with what felt like a sack of bricks. He nearly slammed head on into the far wall, but stopped himself with his gliding technique. He turned quickly and spotted his enemies. The two statues had come to life as soon as Knuckles picked up the claws. He shook off the blow and concentrated on the battle. The human statue was charging now, spear raised and ready. Knuckles decided to attack first, counter - charging with superior speed, he jumped and slashed at the statue with his claws. He then noticed that, trailing the claw was the blood red shadow of a cobra. So this is the magic, he thought. The human statue crumbled from the blow, falling over and no longer moving. The snake statue, which had attacked him first, now approached. Knuckles figured that if it worked once, it would work again, so he charged at the snake. It anticipated him, though and swung early, countering Knuckles' blow and repelling both of them apart. Knuckles took a couple more swings, which were blocked, and decided to try something else. He crouched low, and prepared to jump hard at the monster, which was closing in on him now. He then felt the claws start to vibrate, preparing to strike. Knuckles waited until it was only about 10 feet away and unsprung, leaping at his opponent and slashing. From the back of the claws, the red cobra silhouette emerged, adding much more power to his blow. The attack shattered the snake completely, even though it tried to block. As the snake crumbled, Knuckles realized that there was something very special about his new weapons. He smiled, satisfied, and left, wondering about what Sonic must have found. 


	12. Phoenix vs. Dragon

Chapter 12 Phoenix vs. Dragon  
  
Sonic stood outside of the base, staring at the creation they had so painstakingly built. I wonder if it'll hold up under a full-scale assault, he thought. Oh, well. I can't be here all the time. Sonic turned and looked into the distance, to the imposing mountain that was his destination. It was known only as Shadow Hill, a rocky mass containing no valuable resources of any kind. It only had one thing - lots and lots of caves. A perfect home for Shadow, really. As he was thinking about this, he noticed that the mountain looked darker than he remembered, like there actually was a dark shadow hanging over it. Sonic fingered the hilt of his blade to make sure he had it and sped off toward the rocky cliffs ahead.  
  
It didn't take long for him to run into trouble. As he was just entering the Grey Swamp, he was ambushed by a pair of large, winged serpents that circled him menacingly. They dove to try to sting him with their fangs, but, of course, Sonic was too fast for them. He flitted out of the way, drawing his sword and preparing to attack. Then, noticing that their prey had teeth, the serpents flew higher, out of Sonic's jumping range, and began spitting balls of poison. Sonic wondered if he would have to summon the Phoenix again in order to beat them. Just then, though, the Pheonix planted an idea in his head, that Sonic could focus the power of the Pheonix into his hand and launch it like a buster shot. It seemed like a good idea and Sonic gave it a try. Holding his hand up toward the serpents, Sonic began drawing energy from the sword in his other hand. As it moved, he felt the power flow through him, reverberating like a drum. Still running in circles, he unknowingly said two words that didn't really make too much sense. "Pulsar Phoenix!" As he said this, a large, fiery blast erupted from the outstretched hand, passing between the two creatures and driving them off very quickly, one with a flaming tail. "Not bad," Sonic said, running a hand down the hilt. "Not bad at all." He sheathed it again and continued on.  
  
Reaching the foot of the dark mountain, Sonic looked up to see the odd, dark cloud hovering over it. This must be his doing. "Shadow? Are you up there? I'm coming to find you." Then, to his surprise, there came an answer.  
  
"You should heed the warning of those more powerful than you," Shadow called down from his perch at the protruding entrance of a low cave. "I will have to destroy you if you come up here, you know. It's in my job description. I got stuck with an evil spirit-weapon, so I can't help it."  
  
"Evil won't always win, you know. If I can defeat you, will you come with us?" Sonic drew his sword. "Because I will beat you, you know. I defeated you once, and I will do it again. Even if I will be facing a friend."  
  
Shadow laughed audibly. "So righteous. That's your weakness, Sonic. You fight to stop evil from consuming this world, but are you so stupid as to believe that you can permanently remove it? It will always come back and, little by little, it will decimate the planet. Then, your entire existence will have been for naught."  
  
"That's that damn axe talking, not you, Shadow. I know you better than that. You are not really evil. Only the Dragon is. Are you saying that it is more powerful than you? I know it's not, Shadow, because I've battled you before. I know how much inner strength you really possess. Only you can defeat it's influence. Me fighting you would only cause unneccessary damage to both of us. Now come down here and give it up."  
  
Shadow did not answer. He merely turned and dragged his body back into the cave, as the Black Dragon commanded him. Sonic could tell by how his eyes looked. They were filled with anguish, pleading that Sonic end it for him. I guess I will, he thought. Sonic dashed up the edge of the steep rock face, slaloming upward to avoid large boulders. He reached the cave opening with little difficulty and stopped just before entering. The cloud had darkened. And suddenly, Sonic realized. It's consuming him. The dragon is taking over his mind and body more and more every minute. I have to stop it. Sonic rushed in with no more delay, squinting in the near non-existent light of the cave. Then, he was suddenly in a massive chamber with elaborate marble columns from floor to ceiling. There were torches all along the walls, lighting the room quite brightly. He continued looking around and found where Shadow stood, in front of an equally elaborate statue of a dragon's head. "FOOL," a voice boomed into the chamber. "YOU DARE DEFY ME!? I am the Black Dragon, the very embodiment of Death and Destruction. Those who oppose me always DIE!" Then, as if under the spell of the dragon statue, Shadow charged forward, the same pleading expression in his eyes.  
  
Sonic pushed the sword into a defensive position in front of him, causing Shadow to pull his own axe and make a swipe. Sonic cleanly dodged it and made his own strike, catching the axe blade on the side and forcing them into a pushing contest. Sonic could feel himself begin to perspire. He decided to try his new skill to win this match. He pushed out his left hand, giving Shadow some ground, and began to charge the Pulsar Phoenix. Shadow noticed his trump and flipped backward, just as Sonic fired. "Pulsar Phoenix!" he screamed, hoping that it would strike home. Unfortunately Shadow was faster than the Serpent-birds, jumping to avoid it and jumping off a wall to redirect himself back toward Sonic, bringing his blade down at the same time. At first Sonic thought he had missed, but he then realized that Shadow was sending himself into a spin in mid-air. and was hanging there. Shadow abruptly stopped spinning and held out the axe. "Shadow Dragon!" he yelled and Sonic watched as a shadowy blast erupted from the axe blade. The manuever caught Sonic off-guard and he was forced to roll out of the way, catching a small portion of the onslaught in his back. He shook himself to disperse the lingering pain and blocked quickly against Shadow's next strike. Then, Sonic heard the odd voice in his head that he had decided was the Phoenix's. It told him to let go of the sword. Sonic did so, remembering that it had been yet to lead him the wrong way. He pushed his hardest and knocked Shadow back to the other side of the chamber, then placed the sword in mid-air in front of him and watched as it began spinning again. Shadow was charging again, axe in both hands, flung behind him to prepare for his next attack. The sword was transforming again, the flaming wings sprouted and the body quickly followed. By this time Shadow was uncomfortably close, preparing to knock the floating sword from the air.  
  
Then, the sword finished its change. Instead of going to stop Shadow, though, it went toward the statue, which spoke again. "Ahhh. So you are the Phoenix Edge weilder. I've waited for this moment, my old nemesis." The statue then began to change, too. It began generating a black aura around itself, turning into its own spirit form. It finished just as the Phoenix reached it and dodged to the side, avoiding it cleanly. Sonic then noticed that the axe was no longer in Shadow's hands, but that he was as limp as a doll, his spirit had been totally sapped by the dragon when he took the weapon from Shadow. The two spirits fought viciously, one striking, one parrying, then switching roles, again and again. Finally, the Phoenix backed up and fired what looked like a large Pulsar Phoenix attack from its mouth. The dragon parried with its own Shadow Dragon blast and they both charged through the energy cloud, colliding and sending both away, carreening into the walls. Sonic had to duck to avoid being hit by the dragon. They continued going at it for several minutes and Sonic just looked on hopelessly.  
  
Then, Shadow spoke to him. ".Sonic?" He looked up weakly and smiled. "I'm free. Your forcing the dragon to leave me did it. Thank you." Shadow fell unconcious again. Abruptly, Sonic heard a shrill scream and he looked up to see the dragon on its back and the Phoenix preparing to deliver the final blow, firing again and again into it with the Pulsar Phoenix. Satisfied with its job, the Phoenix folded its wings and changed back to the blade. It flew back to Sonic's hand and he plucked it from the air. As he turned to leave, he also caught a glipse of something else. The dragon's body had dissappeared and the axe lay at his feet. He grabbed it also, took Shadow up over his shoulder and left. Shadow's got some 'splaining to do when he comes to, Sonic thought to himself. 


	13. Legend

Chapter 13 Legend  
  
Now X was sure of it. Whatever it was that he was here to do, it was important. He had seen it in Sonic the whole time but never really noticed it. Desperation. The people here would die if he didn't complete his part of the work. As he approached the burned-out ruins of an old G.U.N. base, he felt that nagging pull at the back of his head increase to an insistent push. He had to follow. "OK, I'm here. No where do you want me to go." The push found direction and pointed him toward a large, especially bombed-out building. "There, huh? Well, here goes nothing at all." Megaman kept his buster in ready position while he slowly approached the structure. He sensed very real danger in there.  
  
And he found it. No sooner had he entered the doorway than something shot at him. X rolled to the side and brought his weapon to bear. Lining his sights up, he found his target. A moment too late, though, as the aggressor had already fired again. It caught X on the shoulder knocking his aim off just as he fired. The shot went wide, but it was enough to scare the small thing away. It scurried down the crossing hall and X sat there a moment, nursing the small hole in his armor. Good, no electrical damage.  
  
X got up and walked to the hall-junction, twice as wary this time. As he turned the corner, he fired twice into the floor and pressed himself against the wall to get some limited cover. No return shots came, but X wasn't totally convinced that nothing was there. He slowly pushed away from the wall and edged toward the other end of the hall. The thing that attacked him was nowhere to be seen. Then, he saw the door at the end of the pitch-black hall open and close quickly, the soft sound of a running engine penetrated it for a split second then went away. Something was in there and it was waiting for him. X could feel it. He switched to his X- ray/infrared vision mode to see what he could pick up. He saw a hot spot that must have been the engine he had heard before. There was something else attached to it, but it wasn't hot enough to tell what it was. X couldn't make out anything else and decided he would risk going through. He walked up to the door and felt for a touch pad or something to open it. To his surprise, he found an old fashioned doorknob. He turned it and opened the door slowly; cautious as to what could be on the other side. He peeked through and found that the door led to a large loading area for flatbeds. The engine was connected to a large loader arm that was not currently moving. Strange, why is the engine on, but the arm not functional? X stepped closer, buster arm out, ready to blast the engine if the arm came to life.  
  
It did, but it was faster than X was. The huge grabber came down on him, crushing him to the ground. X tried to roll to the side, but the claw on the arm closed on him and turned him away from the engine block, it slammed him headfirst into the wall. His vision blurred out and the arm dropped him back to the floor. It loomed over him, like it was waiting for him to move. Then, X realized that his buster arm was pointed straight at the engine. Before the operator could react, X shot twice into the engine block and it erupted into a small fireball, spraying gears and bolts in every direction as the arm fell to the floor. X rolled to the side to avoid the falling arm and quickly rose to his feet, buster ready and scanning the far wall. Then, the overhead loading dock door opened and a large figure stepped in, holding a long, ornate bow and a white glowing bracer around his arm. It had taken what looked like an arrow from the bracer and was drawing it across the bowstring. X acted fast, diving to the side, hand springing forward and flipping back to his start point, where the arrow struck him. How could he have followed that move? Luckily, the arrow had reflected off his armor, but it had still hit him full force. X decided to stay still and see what happened. The figure stood there, sillhouetted against the bright sun penetrating the open door, apparently waiting for X to move. It slowly began pulling another arrow and X acted, only this time, he charged forward, engaging his thruster boots and firing the whole way. His adversary faltered and shot without aiming, starting to drop into a defensive posture as X's blasts hit home in sequence, knocking the creature back and off balance, just as X hit it squarely in the chest, knocking it over. X rebalanced and reaimed his buster.  
  
Now that the enemy had been thrown outside, X could see his face. Or what there was of it. The thing's face was half ravaged, the other half covered with a black sheet. But the half X could see was horrible. The flesh was scorched and the eye was completely red, the ball flooded with blood. The figure began to stand back up, but X was ready, his buster charged to full chaos emerald power. He fired the immense orange blast at the archer, aimed at that horrid face. As the blast made contact, the things head snapped off at the base of its neck. As the bright daylight flooded through the creature's body, erupting into an explosion of light and it slowly evaporated from the feet up. X brought his buster down and looked at what was left. Only a small pile of dust and the bracer remained, the bow had dissappeared along with the creature's body. X walked slowly over to the pile and picked up the bracer. I guess this is the thing I'm looking for. He placed it on his buster arm and watched as it conformed to the size of his arm and an inscription appeared. X read quickly: 'You Are The Hero Granted The Power Of The Angels. Use It Wisely. You Will Be The One To Save Those The Ones Who Called You Here. Good Luck.' 


	14. The Tortoise and the Fox

Chapter 14 The Tortoise and the Fox  
  
Tails strolled back to the break room after finishing his modifications to the Cyclone. He had decided some weeks earlier to make his pet ride 'Mech into a multi-mode assault unit. He had just completed his first conversion mode, the Squall Light Assault Unit. It sported less armor than the Cyclone, and lacked the missile launcher. Instead, it had a machine gun and was much faster due to the large engines added at the rear. But it's most useful aspect was its ability to fly while still in attack mode. As he poured a cup of coffee, Colonel Wilson came into the room.  
  
"Tails!" he said, walking over to him. "You're just the one I needed to see. Knuckles, Sonic, and X have all left! Do you have any idea why?" He looked slightly panicked at not having their commander there.  
  
"Wilson, I'm leaving you in command of all the troops. Make sure nothing goes wrong, ok?" Tails closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling in the back of his head. It was beckoning him to follow.  
  
Wilson was downright stricken with panic. "You're leaving too?! But, why, sir Tails? Why are you all leaving us?" Tails explained all he knew and all Sonic had told them about the Seven.  
  
"One or more of them should be back sometime soon. I'm promoting you to Brigadier General, so you'll have full command of the troops. Good luck, soldier." Tails gave a sympathetic salute.  
  
"I'll. I'll do my best sir."  
  
  
  
Tails brought up the pre-launch checklist on the Cyclone's computer. Everything checked out green and, crossing his fingers, he hit the switch to change to Squall mode and the robotic maintenance arms dropped down and began pulling armor plates off as well as the missile launcher. As soon as the armor was switched from steel to Fibro-iron, more arms dropped down with Engine components, fitting them together to create the two extra large thrusters in the back. They replaced his Vulcan gun with a larger chain gun and the vertical thrust vents opened. The Squall was ready to go. All conversion systems checked out green, two engines lit, four vents thrusting. The holding units let go and Tails closed his eyes as the Squall fell slightly before the lift coils compensated, keeping the unit aloft. Tails keyed to open the vehicle bay doors and easily nudged the hovering walker outside. The sun hit the Cockpit shield and almost blinded him. "I think it's good enough to open the shield up," Tails said to himself, squinting against the oppressive sun as he keyed to slide back the cockpit shielding. Feeling the pulling increase, Tails turned the unit's torso until he felt it tell him to follow. When it did, he was pointed due North. "Onward!" he yelled, fitting into the moment, "to Victory!" He disengaged the legs and threw all power to rear thrusters.  
  
  
  
An hour and a half of straight flying and Tails found himself faced with the Turtle Sea, a large body of water occupying the space between the Mainland and the largest island, Kutsime. As he continued onward, he suddenly sensed the pull draw him downward. He instinctively dove toward the surface of the ocean, hitting the cockpit close toggle. Holding up just above the surface to check the cockpit seal, he saw the shadow. It was gigantic, a huge moving mass with four fins. It surfaced and its huge head broke the calm of the water. It was a massive Tortoise.  
  
Tails looked down at it, pondering what it was here for. Was it here to help him or was it the guardian of his magical weapon? He got his answer all too quickly. The thing submerged and a large weapon came from its back and pointed at Tail's walker. In surprise, he cut the vertical thrusters and pointed nose down, just avoiding the crushing blast. He dove straight down maybe 20 feet and leveled out, aiming his cannon at it. He let several shots fly which hit the creature's underbelly, not even phasing it. It began to move, its fins paddling quickly yet gracefully. Several of the scales of its underbelly popped open, revealing an equal number of guns emerged and swiveled to track him. Tails brought his own weapon to bear, scattering dozens of shots across its belly. He got the satisfaction of seeing two or three weapons detonate before he hit the surface again. Tails waited until the tortoise fired another shot from its back-mounted cannon before diving again. This time, he tried hitting the protruding head, connecting several shots before one hit the creature's eye, causing it to shudder violently before drawing its head back into the shell. As it did so, a shield of energy surrounded the creature's whole body and it started glowing, restoring its health. Then, Tails noticed the metal shield on its underbelly. That must be the item! he thought. He concentrated his fire on the shield and hit it dead on with three shots. It loosened and released itself from the tortoise's body. The creature then just sort of. disappeared. Tails was left under the sea with nothing but his prize and the haunting, empty howl of the beast. 


	15. Where Falcons Dare

Chapter 15 Where Falcons Dare  
  
Zero had left HQ several hours earlier, following only the feeling of a beckoning pull in the back of his head. He was running through what appeared to be a small, isolated desert; really just an arid valley near the center of the mainland. He had scaled the rim, repelling upward with his jets and had looked into the bowl from the edge. It held several pinnacles; one near the center was capped with a flat stone. It was that pinnacle he was searching for. It was there that he was sure the pull was leading him.  
  
Looking outward, he could only see the pinnacles closest to him: jagged, without caps at their peaks. What could be the significance of them, he asked himself. He then realized what they were meant for. The capped pinaccle had a plate at its peak preventing him from getting to its top. He had to scale the capless ones first, then dash his way to over to it. He decided that the one nearest his current position had looked the shortest and he made for that one.  
  
After another few minutes of steady running, Zero made it and began to scale the pinnacle's base. Between repelling upward with his boosters and climbing, he reached the peak in less than ten minutes and stood at its top, looking out at the other ones he could see. He began planning his path. Now, I'll hit the one to the northeast. then that one to the east of it. He pointed to each one in turn. Zero had never had to depend on his boosters as much as he did now. He merely hoped they would carry him far enough. He left the pinnacle, leaping into the air and igniting his boosters. They carried him maybe 400 feet, just enough for him to grasp the stone near the top and scramble up its remainder. It was then that he was attacked first.  
  
A large bird, probably an eagle, dive-bombed him from its position above the pinnacle. Zero, caught off guard, could only cover his head and hang on for dear life. The bird hit him, knocking his arm away from his helmet and the bird circled around for a second pass. This time, Zero had enough time to ignite his beam saber. He swiped at the bird as it came at him, causing it to flit away in alarm. It came back again from behind the stone, hoping to swing around it and catch him blind. Zero poked his head over the peak and spotted the bird coming around to the right side. He calculated its velocity quickly and threw out the saber's blade just in time to slice off one of the bird's wings. It spiraled downward and hit the ground moments later. Zero continued his leaping.  
  
. . .  
  
Sigma was impatient, watching his troops make preparations for the coming attack from the security cameras mounted around the base. G.U.N. had made its agreed contributions: several heavy tanks and an army of mechanized warriors to man his transports and assault platforms. I will kill them all. I won't let one of them escape my wrath. Not this time, Megaman X. This time I will get you.  
  
. . .  
  
Zero had finally made it to the final pinnacle. He prepared to leap for the edge of the plate capping the flat pinnacle when he heard a loud squaking. He looked up, startled to see a gigantic bird fly overhead. It landed on the plate and seemed to change shape, becoming smaller and more human-like. Curiosity overtook Zero and he made the final leap. Grasping the edge, he pulled up and found him self face-to-face with a man wearing a crown and holding a long sword at his side. He wore a long, large shouldered cloak made of feathers. His face was strangely bird-like with a curved nose and brown hair that seemed to meld with his head. Zero stared at him for a second and spoke. "May I ask who you are?"  
  
The man brought his sword up into a defensive position and spoke. "My name is of no importance. I was charged to protect this sacred place. I will do just that." He charged at Zero, swiping at his waist. Zero ignited his blade and blocked the metal sword, melting through it. "Demon!" The man screamed, falling backwards. Zero merely stood over him, his 'saber held aloft.  
  
"What is the artifact?" Zero said, nearly by instinct. The man just backed away and began to shift again, turning back into a falcon. Falcon, Zero thought. Why do I know it is a falcon? As the creature took flight, Zero opened his buster, something he hadn't done in quite some time. He charged it to its maximum potential, and took aim, just as the bird came around to attack. It opened its beak and screamed, unleashing a nearly visible soundwave that nearly knocked Zero off his feet. He steadied his aim and fired, hitting the falcon between its eyes, knocking it flat to the plate. It slowly turned back into the man it had been before, and the crown fell from his head. Zero looked down at him as he calmly walked over to the man's body. Zero picked the crown up from the rock, dusted it off and placed it onto his own head. There, it melded with his helmet and became no more than a design on its surface. When this was over, the man lying before him slowly faded away, leaving this plane of existence until the next time he is called. 


	16. The Powers Gather

Chapter 16 The Powers Gather  
  
Sonic had returned first, carrying Shadow quickly to the Med Ward to be treated. He left the ward and went to watch for the others. Tails arrived in his new fighter craft, carrying a large shield strapped to his back. Sonic went to greet him and they returned to the Control Tower to keep watch. Tails was underneath the Consoles, tweaking some bugs in the system when Knuckles returned, wearing long, curved claws. He came inside, and told Sonic he had seen Zero heading to the South while he was heading back.  
  
X returned about another hour later, a bracer attached to his buster. He went to the roof and sat there, watching the sky change from blue to red, and finally black. It was not until the next day that Zero returned with a design of a crown wrapped around his helmet. It was then that Shadow awoke.  
  
He stood quickly, cringing at the pain in his leg. His eyes ablaze with destiny-induced determination, he threw himself down the halls and into the main chamber where the others were greeting Zero. With the words of the Messenger, he shouted, "The time has come! All is prepared for the coming of the Seven! Now, Mortals. You are the Destined warriors of Light! In the coming battle, You must defeat the great Evil that embodies the Seventh Essence. Arise, Spirits! Join with your hosts and take up Arms once again!"  
  
As Shadow finished his speech, they all were levitated into the air. Then, the Six good spirits melded with their hosts. Sonic was first. His sword unsheathed itself, hovering before him. It began to spin, as if it was transforming. It reached its maximum speed and the spirit of the Phoenix came out from it, forcing itself into Sonics body. He cried out and flames erupted from him, taking the form of great wings. Sonic once again grasped the weapon and placed it in its sheath. He fell back to the floor, amazed at this new power.  
  
Knuckles was next. His claws began glowing red with power and it started spreading up his arms. It penetrated his skin and burned through it, causing Knuckles to scream in pain. The burns showed up now as red tattoos, each in the shape of a serpent, ending in the claw as its head. At the same time, a long hood grew from the back of his head. It also looked like a snake, the top fangs over his eyes and the lower forming a chinstrap, the tail ending when it touched the floor. He too fell back to the floor, feeling the amazing power swell through him.  
  
Shadow's transformation occurred next. His axe did the same as Sonics sword and the spirit of the Dragon flooded through him. The defined edge of his body shifted and melted, becoming a blur. He was nearly invisible, especially when silhouetted in front of a dark background, as he was now. He fell to the floor, and stood with his eyes closed drawing in the extensive power he now possessed.  
  
Tails' shield now began to glow, a bubble of energy expanding outward to engulf him. That seemed to be it, nothing more really happened. "What a rip off," Tails said, disappointed with his display. "I always get stuck with the dumbest stuff. What use do I have for a shield, anyway?"  
  
Zero's power manifested next. The design on his helmet swelled and became the crown once again, attached at the base and glowed golden. Then, two bumps appeared in his back plate and grew rampantly outward, breaking through the metal and unfolding. They were great brown and white falcon wings. After that, Zero's beam saber unbuckled itself from his waist and rose before him. It extended, the glowing blade hissing softly, and began to transform as well. The shaft began to solidify and became metal; the edges sharper than the beam had been hot. He took it in his hand and fell back to the floor. Now Zero was the Falcon King.  
  
X was last, his bracer glowing with white light. He looked down at it to watch it meld into his arm. Then, his whole armor glowed white hot with energy, causing X to yell. He must have passed out for several seconds, because he saw in front of him a woman with flowing garments and pale glowing skin looking at him. She seemed to float to his side and kiss him, whispering to him. "X," she said. "You were called here for a very good reason. Your courage is all that will save these poor people here from total annihilation. Please use my power for their good. The Angel then backed away and then threw herself toward him, melding her power with his own. He came to just in time to hit the floor and notice that his armor was cool again, but it still glowed with the same mysterious energy.  
  
. . .  
  
Sigma's attention was drawn away from the work of his men when he saw the giant crystal begin to glow with its own energy. He pondered for a moment, then realized. The spirits are being drawn out! he thought. The energy built quickly and suddenly surged through the computers, frying out just about every system linked to it, including most of his working robots. He then could feel the power enter his own awareness, bringing his personal energies to the maximum. He imagined himself as a giant, towering over the world and taking it all as his own. It was then that the base transformed with the influence of the crystal. In compliance to his wishes, all the equipment and buildings of his sprawling base came together, reforming to become an exact replica of his Residual Image, the body Sigma had always had before. He shifted his viewpoints to the main door cameras, which had ended up in the head, where his eyes would have been. He Lifted one great hand and looked at it. He was whole again, but this time, he had ultimate power. Now you will be destroyed, Megaman X. You and all your friends, too. It looks like you need some incentive to come out, though. He looked to the east and saw a large city. "That'll do," he said softly. 


End file.
